WARREN — With the calendar closing in on the holiday season, the Alleman family lost their home and many of their belongings in a house fire Dec. 1 on Arsenal, near 12 Mile and Van Dyke. Warren Fire Commissioner ...Read More

Police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a man who went missing recently.Frinnie Williamson, 49, of Southfield, is missing, according to a news release from Lt. Ted Goff, of the Southfield Police ...Read More

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Clinton Township Clintondale boys basketball coach Rob Townsend makes it clear that he sees where his team could be at a disadvantage this season.“We have no size,” Townsend said. ...Read More

ROCHESTER — At the annual Rochester Adams coaches meeting, Jason Rapp had a very important announcement.The athletic director of the Highlanders was pleased to reveal that Al Must had won the title of Coach of the ...Read More

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — A new bench that sits on the playground of Cheyenne Elementary School is the product of a Dakota High School sophomore who recently earned Eagle Scout status.Alec DeMaria recently earned the ...Read More

TROY — Carole Halbrook, 74, of Sterling Heights, never thought she would find love again after she lost her husband, Albert Person, her high school sweetheart and childhood neighbor, who died suddenly during routine ...Read More

Login

Wave sinks boat on Lake St. Clair, passengers unharmed

A Madison Heights couple was rescued from Lake St. Clair after their 17-foot aluminum boat capsized during a fast-moving, violent thunderstorm that tore across the county June 17.

Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said deputies assigned to the Macomb Sheriff Marine Division were dispatched to the waters near the South River access site in Harrison Township at 5:30 p.m. in response to a 911 call regarding the boat’s two passengers treading the turbulent waves.

The 911 caller, the male of the two victims, was able to provide responding deputies with his GPS coordinates prior to his phone being rendered inoperable, according to a report.

Upon arrival, deputies learned that the woman, 53, had already been removed from the water by another boater. Deputies immediately assisted the 58-year-old man to safety.

The couple, who were unharmed, told deputies that they had launched their boat from the access site located near Lake St. Clair Metropark for an afternoon of fishing. At approximately 4:45 pm, they received a call from a family member informing them of the impending storm, so they began to head in. They told deputies that they had engine trouble and were unable to make it.

They soon took on a “large wave,” which filled the boat, and it quickly sank.

Another nearby boater heard their distress calls and helped the woman onto their boat and to safety.

Both individuals were wearing life jackets.

Wickersham said the life jackets and the fact that the couple had a cellphone with them is why they survived the harrowing incident.

“Had it not been for these simple precautions, this could have ended tragically,” he said.

Sheriff’s Lt. John Michalke said the boat was towed in and salvaged.

About the author

Staff Writer Julie Snyder covers Harrison Township, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, L’Anse Creuse Public Schools, and Mount Clemens Community Schools for the Journal. She has worked for C & G Newspapers since 2003, and attended the University of Toledo with degrees in journalism and photography. Julie has received several awards for her work in Arizona and Washington, including AP awards in Arizona for breaking news reporting and feature writing.